Rohit Sharma’s idea of sticking with the opening pair of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second Test against Australia backfired as the Indian team suffered a huge 10-wicket loss inside three days. India’s loss not only helped Australia to square the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 1-1 but also forced the Rohit Sharma-led side to slip down to third in the updated World Test Championship (WTC) table.

Rohit’s decision to go with Rahul-Jaiswal pair in Adelaide came after the duo’s success in Perth, where they scored 201 runs in the second innings, en route to India’s mammoth 295-run win. Rohit was unavailable in Perth as he joined the team late to be with his wife for her delivery. 

With the Rahul-Jaiswal duo accumulating only 68 runs in Adelaide, the biggest question is will Rohit return to his original position as an opener? In Adelaide, Rohit managed 3 and 6. If records are to be considered, Rohit’s success in Test cricket were in the opening slot. Similar is the case with Rahul.

However, Rahul was moved to the middle order in recent years, after the emergence of Jaiswal and Shubman Gill at the top of the order. With the series on the line, Rohit faces a major headache as far as the Indian batting order is concerned in Brisbane.

Why Rohit Sharma needs to bat at top?

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar explained why Rohit should return at the top of the order with Jaiswal. “He should return to his regular spot. We should remember why Rahul had opened. He did that because Rohit Sharma was not available for the first Test,” Gavaskar was quoted by Sports Tak from Australia.

Pointing out the positives, the 75-year-old, who was the first batter to score 10,000 Test runs, stated opening the batting for India give Rohit an added advantage.

“Now I can understand why they kept him as an opener in the second Test, he had a 200-plus partnership with Jaiswal. But now that he couldn’t score in this Test, I feel Rahul should go back to No. 5 or No.6 and Rohit Sharma should open. If Rohit scores quickly in the beginning, then he can score a big century also later,” added Gavaskar.

Rohit-Rahul’s middle-order batting stats 

Having made his Test debut in 2013, Rohit’s career got a major push when he started opening the batting in 2018. The Indian captain has scored 2,685 runs (42 matches) while batting in top two and 1,594 runs (31 games) outside of top two. Rahul, the stylish right-hander, scored 2,698 runs (51 matches) in top two and 430 runs (11 games) while batting outside the top two slots.